The Strategy of Washing Clean a Slag Shou Chapter 35
The Crime Lord's Undercover Boyfriend (Arc 3-1)
Heavy clouds cloaked the night sky, giving the sense of a vast, endless darkness. Not a single star could be seen.
Su Yang opened his eyes, dazed and bewildered. He could feel something warm and sticky coated on his face, and the heavy scent of blood assailed his nostrils. The nauseating odor of rust made his stomach churn.
His surroundings were too quiet. Su Yang strained his ears trying to pick up any sound, and he began to wonder if this was the Underworld.
—–Could it be that the 100% progress had arrived too late? Has he already died due to the Tiānshān Lock?
A burst of sorrow suddenly welled up within him, but there was also a thread of relief. After having had to play the perfect lover in different worlds across time and space, he had experienced and endured all sorts of hazards that had been simply inhumane!!
So what if he's dead. Besides being surrounded by constant darkness and smelling somewhat disgusting, the Underworld wasn't so bad.
Even the wind feels nice…..
He kept it up for a moment longer, before bursting into tears.
Fuck, so he really did die in the end! After all his painstaking efforts and all the patience he had poured into it, it's all gone up in smoke! He would never go home again, he would never see his mom and dad again!
Su Yang cried till he choked on his sobs. "I don't want to die, I worked so hard, why do I still have to die, I had to pretend to love someone I don't, no matter how hard things got, I did my best, I just wanted to keep living, why is it so hard….."
He cried and cried, all his grief and sorrow pouring out. Anyone who could hear him would have shed tears of pity for him.
The system wanted to warn him that his target was right next to him, but before it could get a word out, Su Yang was unceremoniously hauled up from the ground.
As his legs dangled in the air, Su Yang could only stare stupidly.
The man before him was very tall, his brows drawn tightly together in a grim expression. He had a cruel air about him, and his entire body blended into the darkness. Su Yang was held aloft in his grip, frozen in terror.
The man flipped open a cellphone and pressed a number. "Position locked. Pick me up."
The voice on the other end of the line seemed to ask a question. The man's pitiless eyes swept over Su Yang's tear streaked and blood spattered face before replying, "He's already crying from fright."
Su Yang: "……." I wasn't crying! The wind was blowing into my eyes!!
He quickly wiped the tears away, his eyes red as a rabbit's. He squirmed uneasily, not knowing which way he should turn to hide his face.
{T/N: Red rabbit eyes : pic}
—–Couldn't you give me a heads up before changing worlds? You scared this baby to death QAQ
The man ended his call, and used his sleeves to mop at the blood on Su Yang's face. As he wiped, the fair skin was gradually revealed, and he could see the round, dark eyes which were still misted with tears looking helplessly humiliated. The boy resembled a stupid rabbit which had wandered away and gotten lost, and was now crying for someone to pick him up, hug him and gently comfort him.
There was a faint, flicker of surprise in the man's fathomless eyes.
Su Yang pursed his lips nervously. Why was this man staring at him like this? Was there some sort of deep grudge between them? Right at this moment, his host body's memories suddenly poured into his mind.
His brain scrambled to make sense of the sudden influx of information, before finally summing it all up in one short sentence:
——There really is a very deep grudge between them!!
The original host's name was Xu Yanqing. He was a police officer, or to be more precise, an undercover cop, who was not only delectably pretty to look upon, but also had a very flexible waist! Ahem. Anyway, he was very good at pole dancing, and after two or three times at attempted seduction, he finally managed to climb into the bed of the head of the Zhao family.
The current generation's head of the Zhao family was called Zhao Feng. He was well known for his sly cunning and irascible temper. But, he was gay. And he was especially fond of big eyed, red lipped, rosy cheeked, pretty boys.
Xu Yanqing quickly came to realise that Zhao Feng was a cold, indifferent individual. Every time they met up, the man would stare at his face with rapt attention, and sometimes would even ask him to cry a little. In short, Xu Yanqing had found the fetishes of the rich and affluent to be extremely distasteful.
Even though Zhao Feng had treated him fairly well, Xu Yanqing was a man with a mission. And so, he pretended to be civil and attentive on the surface, while surreptitiously gathering evidence of Zhao Feng's crimes.
Zhao Feng was a cautious man. Xu Yanqing had stuck to his side for over a year but had been unable to obtain any incriminating evidence against him. After being ordered to speed up his efforts, he grew anxious, and decided to simply tip-off the police on one of the hideouts. And tonight was precisely the night when they had decided to net Zhao Feng and all confidantes in one fell swoop.
In the end, Zhao Feng still managed to escape. As for Xu Yanqing, he had been caught in the ensuing chaos, and lost his life.
Su Yang swallowed hard. Before the whole furore began, Zhao Feng had received a text message. In all likelihood, Xu Yanqing's schemes have already been exposed.
His thoughts were currently running around in panicked circles. In the face of such a cold-blooded, tyrannical crime lord who had no qualms about killing, any excuses he could come up with would merely be treated as quibbling nonsense!
This "shoot first, ask questions never" brother Zhao is simply the living embodiment of the God of Death!!
{T/N: 社会我赵哥, 人狠话不多 – lit. social you brother Zhao, fierce man of few words. This piece of nonsense is another internet jargon, lol. Refers to a very intimidating person who speaks very little and prefers to take direct action to express his intent. Basically the stoic, overbearing type.}
His nose prickled as dismay welled in him. After finally escaping the terrifying clutches of the Tiānshān Lock, he has been dumped into another situation where death shadowed his every step. There simply wasn't any time for him to even catch his breath!!
The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. Tears welled up and dripped to the ground. The tip of his nose was pink as he sniffled, a soft whimper escaped his throat, and he began sobbing again.
Zhao Feng's brows drew together, feeling an inexplicable itch in his heart accompanied by a faint ache. All his ill-intent towards the youth suddenly dissipated.
He frowned and asked, "What are you crying for."
Su Yang twitched and choked out miserably, "I…. it hurts…"
Zhao Feng shot a quick look at the wound on his forehead. It was still bleeding. He loosened his hold on Su Yang's collar and said, "Then do something about it."
Su Yang blinked at him uncertainly for a long moment, then asked in a timid whisper, "What should I do, I don't know how."
Zhao Feng growled, "Do I look like a fucking doctor to you!"
Su Yang's frame of mind had begun to slowly calm down, but after being snapped at, it collapsed again. After having played at being a sweet and silly little Young master for more than a year in the previous world, he has not completely adapted to his new role. A single sharp word from a person was enough to make the tears well up in his eyes again.
Zhao Feng took in a deep breath, and roughly pushed him against a wall. He pulled out a piece of tissue and pressed it against Su Yang's injury.
Su Yang hissed in pain. His fear prevented him from voicing his displeasure, and he could only glare at Zhao Feng accusingly in silence.
——You're hurting me!
Zhao Feng took some unexpected pleasure at being on the receiving end of such a pitiful look. Something flashed in his mind, but it was gone before he could grasp it, and was only left with the fading afterimage of a boy with dark, misty eyes, who was loveable as a little puppy.
He said tauntingly, "Look at you, how did you even manage to obtain your police badge?"
Pricked by the contemptuous sneer, Su Yang began boasting defensively, "When I was at the police academy, my shooting skills were excellent!"
He did not attempt to hide his identity at all. Zhao Feng felt somewhat complicated upon hearing such a calm and frank admission, but there was also a strange feeling of unfamiliarity.
He asked again, "How long have you been a cop."
Su Yang replied honestly, "I graduated last summer, and came to your side immediately after. I have not been given a formal post yet." He mulled for a moment, then added, "They told me I would be given a promotion and a pay raise if I managed to bring you in!"
Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes dangerously. Su Yang gave a squeak and promptly shut his mouth.
Zhao Feng said, "But you did not manage to bring me in. Not only that, you revealed your own identity."
Su Yang nodded disconsolately, looking lost.
Is this a show of remorse? Zhao Feng gave a nasty laugh. "You've followed me for a year. You should know my rules."
Su Yang nodded again, then quickly shook his head with a look of panic on his face. "You want to sink me in the river?" He quaked.
After having already cried twice in a row, his eyes were still red and swollen. Paired with his wet, dewy eyes, he was a sight fit to evoke pity.
Zhao Feng unconsciously hugged Su Yang against his chest. Then he abruptly recalled that this youth was an ungrateful wretch, and immediately shoved him away again in a fit of rage and humiliation.
Su Yang grew more uncertain as Zhao Feng remained tight-lipped. He stretched out a fair, trembling little hand and timidly tugged on Zhao Feng's shirt as he said, "Feng gē, I know I was wrong, don't throw me away……"
{T/N: 哥(gē) – elder brother, also a respectful form of address for a slightly older male you are familiar with, also a form of address for gang leaders or bosses.}
Zhao Feng took in another deep breath, then replied, "Where I'm in charge, wrong is wrong. This will never change."
Su Yang's heart sank, but then Zhao Feng continued, "You will go to the Imperial Court."
The Imperial Court is a well known den for the rich to squander their wealth, and is one of the Zhao family's many entertainment properties. Sending such a young, beautiful youth as himself to that place could only mean one thing.
Before Su Yang could do more than gape, an ear-piercing whistle sounded from the end of the alley. Zhao Feng grabbed his wrist and dragged him over briskly.
The street lamps faintly illuminated seven to eight cars, which were all painted a muted black. The sleek lines of the cars and the smooth purr of the engines evidenced that they have been heavily modified for maximum speed.
Su Yang's terror rose to a new level when this assemblage came into view. He began pleading, "Feng gē, I don't want to go to the Imperial Court, I want to stay with you….." He sounded close to tears.
Zhao Feng turned a deaf ear to his pleas, pulled open one of the car doors and stuffed him in. "Send him to the topmost floor of the Imperial Court. Get some people to watch over him, make sure he doesn't run."
The driver answered in the affirmative, and started the car.
Su Yang knelt on the back seat, slapping frantically at the windows of the car. His misery and fright shone clear in his eyes. Zhao Feng could not help frowning a little, but the car has already sped away.
Seeing him lost in a trance, Lin Feifan walked over towards him and asked, "Where are you sending Xu Yanqing off to? He looked frightened out of his wits."
Zhao Feng's lips unconsciously quirked in a small grin. "Top floor of the Imperial Court."
Lin Feifan looked stunned, before bursting into laughter. "The royal presidential suite ah, what's he so dissatisfied for? You spoil him too much."
Zhao Feng gave a non-commital grunt. "He's behaving strangely today. Have him monitored."
Lin Feifan nodded and said, "He's probably putting on another act. You've seen how he danced at Night. The way he swings those hips, who would have imagined him to be an upright, civil servant? It's a shame that this strippling didn't sign up to be an actor instead, he could have easily bagged an Oscar with those skills."
{T/N: Night was in english in the raws, likely the name of some club.}
Zhao Feng slid into one of the cars, kneading at his temples. "The Zhao family's industries within the country have long since been whitewashed, it's all the same no matter how many moles they send, but this kid…."
Lin Feifan started the car, before picking up where Zhao Feng left off, "But this kid looks like the sweetheart in your dreams, so you couldn't bear to get rid of him."
Zhao Feng shot him a brief, icy glare. "He's just a plaything, did you think I would take him seriously?"
Lin Feifan privately thought, Whether or not you take him seriously, you ought to know better than me.
=========
Su Yang wailed and howled in the back of the car along the whole journey, but was eventually worn down by blood loss and fatigue. By the time they arrived at the Imperial Court, he was out cold.
The lackey who drove him was alarmed, and hastened to make a call to request for instruction.
"If he's unconscious then get the doctor, why the fuck are you calling me?! Just send him to the damned room already, and mind you don't drop him!!" Zhao Feng snapped the phone shut, before turning to look at Lin Feifan. "Turn back."
"We're almost at your home, where do you want to go now?" Lin Feifan deliberately asked.
Zhao Feng gritted out two words from between clenched teeth: "Imperial. Court."
Note: I've changed the arc's name from Bigshot's Hidden Lover (which was titled by the previous translator) to Crime Lord's Undercover Boyfriend, because it is more accurate.